Dancing.

I apologize for the delay in updates!

I've been sick for the past couple of days.

Our leader, Amy was actually diagnosed

with Malaria last Monday evening.

A few of the girls took her to the hospital

and was given tons of meds and a couple

of lovely shots.

No worries though, 

we caught it early enough that she just 

needs plenty of rest and to take her medicine.

I, however, came down with a wonderful

case of food poisoning on Tuesday evening.

It was an extremely rough night,

but I guess I can't always expect my body

to agree with all of the African dishes here.

I stayed home from school yesterday

(Wednesday that is) and for part

of the day today.

I just had my first full meal

a few minutes ago and am starting

to feel much better!

Last weekend half of our group

decided to travel to Ho.

There's hiking and waterfalls

and an awesome monkey reserve there.

I decided to stay home and spend

a weekend with Jesus and the other 

three girls.

We went to an actual 

American Grocery Store in Accra!

They had a lot of food they 

sell in the states.

We only get breakfast and dinner

here so it's nice to be able to buy

food I was familiar with.

Then we went onto the Accra mall.

And wow.

Talk about American.

There were white people everywhere!

It was as if they were on vacation.

There was a Mac Store,

other clothing stores,

and even a food court.

Some of us honestly felt a little awkward

and we left shortly after.

Honestly I think it was just too much

American at one time! ha!

There was even a public restroom

with REAL toilets (rather than a hole)

and you didn't even have to pay.

yeah…

On Saturday the Deaf school had

an event.  The morning started

out with a Marathon run (yeah no big deal)

and then the Primary School teachers

played against the Secondary School Teachers

in a game of football (soccer).

The students hung out with us on the sidelines.

Playing with our hair,

sitting on our laps,

"pressing" on our skin to watch it change color,

and tracing our veins.

During halftime,

the giant speakers donated by the nearby church

played music loudly.

The kids could feel the vibrations.

And guess what they did?

They danced.

They smiled.

They laughed.

They were just kids.

And we danced with them.

It meant so much to them.

And it was so great to be amongst

so many happy and joyful kids.

One little girl attends the Deaf/Blind school,

she's probably about 8 or 9 and she can

see a little if you're close to her.

She was standing off to the side of the

dancing group by herself,

slowly swaying to the gentle vibration she could feel.

I put my hands out in front of her face,

waving them back and forth so she'd see them.

And she knew just what to do.

She placed her brown little hands into mine

and smiled widely.

We danced.

She cannot see.

She cannot hear.

But she can dance.

My heart smiled.

On Sunday I met up with a missionary

named Dayja.  My friend Hope met her

back in Indiana and she "just so happened"

to be coming to Ghana that very next week.

So after exchanging contact info,

turns out she's only about an hour from me.

She invited me to come to her church,

where the sermon was spoken in Twi,

but I was able to follow along in my Bible.

There were so many African women 

in beautiful dresses.

Fabrics of so many different patterns,

neatly wrapped into perfection.

Some with shoulder sashes

or tight head wraps.

Then,

the music started.

And you know what all of those

neatly sunday-dressed

African men and women did?

They danced.

Up and down the aisles,

around the pews,

singing, clapping,

and waving their hands with thankfulness.

It didn't last for just a song or two,

but for about an hour.

So all of those neatly dressed women

in beautiful dresses,

had now put down their

shoulder sashes,

and head wraps,

or used them to wipe the dripping

sweat from their brow.

Their sweat produced by their love for Jesus.

A Ghanaian man named Prince

took me by the hand and danced 

up and down the aisles with me.

Women smiled and waved their handkerchiefs

at me in excitement and glee.

I'd never seen God's spirit move

so vibrantly and excitedly amongst

a group of people.

Besides my sickness,

this week has been somewhat uneventful

in Ghana.

God has been teaching me many things.

And if I'm honest, it hasn't been easy.

I'm learning to find my stability and my comfort

in Him alone, rather than other people.

We have so much down time here,

it's difficult to keep busy all the time.

This leaves room for homesickness,

loneliness and dreadful feelings of isolation.

I'm learning to bring this to Him.

After much encouragement

from my prayer warriors back home,

I'm learning to embrace my painful feelings.

So,

this morning,

I cried.

Hard.

I cried hard for Jesus.

I told Him I was tired of pretending like

I was fine when clearly I was not.

I told Him I couldn't do it.

I told Him I honestly wanted to give up.

And to go home.

I said I cannot.

I cannot.

I cannot.

But You can.

You can.

You can.

I acknowledged my human limitation

and asked Him to show up and Be God

in a Big Way.

I need to feel His physical Embrace

and to knowingly experience

Peace in His Presence.

After admitting all of this to God,

I opened my Bible to James

and read a familiar verse about 

"Submitting myself then to God. 

Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Come near to God and He will come near to you."

But then I kept reading

and learned what I had just done.

"Grieve, mourn and wail.

Change your laughter to mourning

and your joy to gloom.

Humble yourselves before the Lord

and He will lift you up."

-James 4:7-10

Sometimes God just wants us to come

to Him broken.

I was mistakingly coming to Him

thinking I had His plans and lessons

already figured out.

Like I was expecting Him to move

and act in a certain way.

But maybe I just need to

approach my loving teacher

as an unlearnt student.

As broken.

As weak.

Because through our weaknesses,

His strength prevails.

And with that,

Jeremiah 29:11 says,

"For I know the plans I have for you,

declares the Lord, plans to prosper

you and not to harm you.  Plans to

give you hope and a future."

His plans for me are for GOOD.

Why?

Because He works all things together

for the good of those who love Him

and are called according to His purpose.

(-Romans 8:28)

Because He says so.

And because He loves me.

And love drives out fear!

(-1 John 4:18)

So amidst standing in the very

grounds of Ghana, West Africa

in which He called me to,

His plans for me are STILL good.

So somehow,

someway,

my painful feelings are meant for good.

And my sufferings are meant to

be thankful for.

Through perseverance comes character.

And through character comes HOPE.

(-Romans 5:3-5)

Maybe I've been searching for hope,

before I've stood the test of my faith.

This weekend we are going back

to the wood district

and hopefully to the beach again.

Look for more updates.

Still working on photos.

Thank you for your continued prayers

and words of encouragement.

They truly mean more to me than

you all know.

LOVEfromGHANA

-Ali

Clay Jars and Sacred Vessels.

I have this image.

2 Corinthians 4:7-9 says, 

"But we have this treasure in jars

of clay to show that this all-surpassing

power is from God and not from us.

We are hard pressed on very side,

but not crushed; 

perplexed, but not in despair;

persecuted, but not abandoned;

struck down, but not destroyed."

My heart is a clay jar.

Within it resides the very power 

that raised Christ from the dead.

And no matter how discouraged,

distraught, lonely, isolated,

or helpless I feel or am,

No thing can lessen,

disturb, or destroy

that very power that is within me.

As long as I hold my clay jar tight 

and close to my chest, 

hugging it with all of my might.

I can safely walk through life,

or right now, down the streets of Ghana,

even with the hustle and bustle of people,

bumping into me,

jostled around on tro tros,

or crammed into taxis,.

My body may waste away,

it may feel hungry because

of the little food we eat here,

it may be tired from walking 2 miles

to school everyday,

dripping with sweat and slowly

browning because of the hot African sun.

My mind may feel exhausted

due to the extreme challenge it

sometimes is to teach beautiful African 

Deaf children how to read.

I may feel lonely as if no one understands,

I may feel isolated as if no one is listening,

and I may feel hopeless as if no one really

shares the same passion for Christ as I do,

but none of that,

not any of it,

can touch even a fraction

of what my clay jar holds.

"For God, who said,

Let light shine out of darkness,

made his light shine in our hearts

to give us the light of the

knowledge of the glory

of God in the face of Christ."

-2 Corinthians 4:6

So may my heart shine.

Shine through the thick African red dirt

that is constantly caked on my feet.

May it shine through my dirt-stained

skirt from kneeling beside 

little chairs to look straight into

the deep chocolate brown little eyes

of my African Deaf children.

May it shine through my chalk and pencil lead

stained finger tips from teaching them

how to write their letters.

No matter my outside,

the deepest, most inner part of me,

is the same.

Yesterday,

Today,

and Tomorrow.

"Therefore we do not lose heart.

Though outwardly we are wasting away,

yet inwardly we are being renewed

day by day.

For our light and momentary troubles

are achieving for us an eternal glory

that far outweighs them all.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,

but on what is unseen.

For what is seen is temporary,

but what is unseen is eternal." 

-2 Corinthians 4:16-18

A Thankful Heart.

Sunday, May 20, 2012. 10am.

We've been without 

running water and electricity

since yesterday morning before

we left for Accra.

This morning Jesus spoke to me

and told me to step out of my

own self-pity.

That word "without" should not

be in my vocabulary.

He told me to start focusing on 

what I DO have rather than what I DON'T have.

I came to Him with a thankful heart.

We don't need electricity.

Because we have the sun to see.

We don't need running water.

Because we have water to drink.

We have shade to keep us cool.

And a house to keep us dry.

We really have everything we need.

And in the broad scheme of things,

we are not lacking.

And best of all,

I have and serve a loving, heavenly 

Father who is shaping and molding me.

And desires so deeply to bless me.

Yesterday was great.

The Art Center was much like

the Wood District, but bigger.

So many people inviting you

in their shops, pulling you

into different directions.

"Come, come! Buy, buy!"

I bought a handmade wooden drum (djembe)

from Abduel at Trinity Drum Shop.

He even gave me a free drum lesson!

A man out back carved two symbols

of my choice in the sides of the drums.

I picked "Nye Gyuema" which means "except God."

Meaning, nothing else matters in this world,

EXCEPT GOD.

Also I chose a symbol that looks like a sun,

meaning "child of God."

Here in Ghana, they take great

pride in the day of the week you were born on.

Most people have their day as their first of middle name.

Since I am Tuesday born,

my Ghanaian name is Abena.

The man carved my name in the bottom of my drum as well. =]

We made our way to the beach.

So many Ghanaians wanted to meet us

and take their pictures with me.

Lots of photos to show you!

THEN!

I got to ride saddleback on a horse

up and down the coastline.

IN GHANA!

Wow, can check that off my bucket list.

We have to pack up fast and leave earlier

than expected.

The rain clouds were moving in like a blanket

of thunder.

We started running for the bus station, 

but got caught in the rain.

A sweet Ghanaian lady invited us

into her shop to sit and wait out the rain.

One of the girls, Cara I was with was a little

scared of the storm.

The wind was blowing hard

and nearly looked like the movie twister outside.

Trash blowing, brown and black dust whipping around.

It was hard to see.
Suddenly a little two year old Ghanaian girl
walked into the shop.
She was the daughter of one of the owners.
She walked up to Cara and stared.
Cara invited her up onto her lap
and there she stay, cuddling
for the remainder of the storm. 

The rain poured down so loudly on the tin roof 

above us it sounded like large trees were falling around us.

It sounded like a hurricane.

But nope, just another beautiful African rain.

Yesterday was just gorgeous.

Everything about it.

The struggles, the successes,

the hustle and the stillness of the beach.

It struck every emotion inside of me.

And I'm ready for more.

LOVEFromGhana.

-Abena

Much Thanks.

If I gathered all of the children

of the Mampong-Akwapim 

school for the Deaf,

And counted the amount of people

who are praying for me,

I wouldn't have enough fingers

and toes to keep tract on.

The number is too much.

I am overwhelmed with 

gratitude for all of your

continual prayers, 

encouraging words,

and support.

It's comforting to know

the size of my army back home

lifting me up into Jesus' arms.

Thank you,

Thank you,

Thank you.

I feel your prayers.

Please keep them coming.

My homesickness and struggle

has helped me realize just how weak

I really am. And just how strong God

really is.

We started teaching last Tuesday morning.

On school days, we are up by 6:30, 

showered and ready in our long skirts,

sandals and solid colored t-shirts 

for a 7:30 breakfast.

We sat and chose our 

classrooms for the week

on Tuesday morning,

although I wasn't sure which 

grade I wanted to volunteer for.

When the head mistress called out

"P-2," meaning primary level 2,

my hand shot up involuntarily.

"Okay,"….I said to myself.

First I team taught Language and Literacy.

with Frimpong, a Deaf teacher from Tutu.

Then it was my turn to teach on my own.

The very first lesson I ended up

teaching was Religious and Moral Education.

The whole study was about

different attributes of God.

I got to teach the Deaf children about

who God is!!

Sometimes God just has a sense of humor.

The kids are pretty good.

They range from ages 8-13.

Their grade level is based on their

skills rather than their age like

in American schools.

Some kids started later than others.

And some have different learning paces

than others.

We did have one fight

that I had to break up.

I had to hug one of the kids 

to my chest in order to protect

him from the other.

This isn't uncommon in these schools

because the kids' punishment 

for when they get into trouble is physical.

Whipping and slapping by the

administration.

It's difficult to watch sometimes,

but it is just a different culture.

Mid-morning we get a 30 minute break.

This normally consists of the students

grabbing my arms and hands

and "leading" me to the cafeteria.

Most of them want to touch

my skin and ask me my name.

They love getting their pictures taken.

Cameras are the coolest things ever for them.

They'll pose and cross their arms,

throw up peace signs or smile sweetly.

They really are just….kids.

They love to play and laugh.

But they also really love to learn.

One of my kids,

he's probably 10 or 11,

loves to take my hand and 

kiss the back of it!

One of my girls

took me by the hand during break

and introduced me one by one

to each and every student.

She knew ALL of their name signs 

and everything.

After break we go back and teach

from about 11am-2pm.

At 2pm the school closes and we come home.

We have the rest of the afternoon

to walk around, take a taxi or tro tro

into town, or relax at the guesthouse.

Today the primary school was closed.

So we all went to the Wood District.

SERIOUSLY cool.

It's a line of little shops that look like

little huts with people sitting outside.

They'll yell, "Obruni! Come come."

So, being polite, you MUST go inside.

And man…so beautiful.

Everything you imagine that would be 

made in Africa is at the Wood District.

Handmade dresses, bags, wooden masks,

sculptures, elephants, nativity scenes, 

wooden beaded necklaces, handmade drums,

and so much more.

I've found that I'm crazy good at bartering.

I'm 99% certain that I will come back 

to America with a Ghanian English accent.

You literally HAVE to talk like they do in order

for them to understand you.

And I've become surprisingly good at it, too.

I talked a man down from 20 cedis to 11 cedis

and a lady from 7 cedis to 5.

Pretty proud :P

Tomorrow we are getting up

and going to the Art Center down in Accra.

They have a lot of Ghana memorabilia and such.

Then we are headed to the beach!

I'll take lots of pictures because how often 

do you get to sunbathe off the coast of Africa?

LEGIT.

You know what else is legit?

My sandal tan lines on my feet.

Pretty great.

Okay and first world problem rant

in the third world country, ready go!

My mosquito bite count is

in the low 40's.

My roommate and I are now sleeping under

a mosquito net that seems to be working 

pretty well.

I became her hero last night as I killed

an orange/clear/black spider the size of

a quarter with a shoe.

Also we've made friends with a praying mantis

named Ben.

Cockroaches, ants, moths, and more.

We just embrace it!

Thank you all again for you continual prayers.

I definitely feel them.

God has started working in little ways each day.

He revealed to me this morning that I need to 

let go and let God.

I really have found that I try and orchestrate

much of my life on my own.

Yet, that kind of "steps on God's feet" if you will,

in the sense that I'm not allowing Him to BE God.

He desperately WANTS to bless me 

and surprise me.

But I'm not letting Him.

So each day will be a gift.

And I'll take one day at a time.

So I don't get in the way and miss a single thing 

He wants me to do or say or be.

This morning I found a shaded spot underneath

an African tree out in the guesthouse yard.

I sat with my feet on the trunk

and my butt on a stool and listened to

"You revive me, Lord…" on my iPod.

With hands open and eyes closed,

I surrendered.

I opened my eyes halfway through the

song and two little boys were walking straight up to me.

Now, mind you, the guesthouse is FENCED in.

I've never seen anyone walk through the guesthouse

yard unless they work here or they're from our group.

But here they come, "Obruni, Obruni!"

I pull my ear plugs out and meet Saryi Benard

and Akyea Richard.

(they wrote their names in my journal.)

They are probably 10 and 12 years old.

(brothers).

They spoke little English, but asked about

my "ear plugs."

I said, I'm listening to music. Do you want to hear?

Akyea nodded.

He smiled when I put the earphone up to his ear.

I asked, "Do you know what they're singing about?

I said, "They're singing about Jesus."

Akyea nodded again.

He asked if I was reading the Bible.

I said yes and I asked if they knew who Jesus was.

They nodded.

Then, they danced for me, sang for me, and 

kept me company until I was done.

I went in to get my camera so that I could film

their dancing and singing.

I look forward to sharing Saryi and Akyea with you all. :]

Little presents.

I just have to keep my eyes open for little presents

sprinkled in my life each day by my loving

Heavenly Father.

Prayer Requests:

1.  For FEARLESSNESS.  That Joshua 1:9

will stay in my heart.

-Be strong and courageous.

-Do not be afraid.

-Do not be discouraged.

-The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Also for Ephesians 6:19-20 "Pray also for me that whenever

I speak, words may be given me so that I may FEARLESSLY

proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an

ambassador in chains.  Pray that I may declare it FEARLESSLY

as I should."

2.  For my family.  Grandma went to be with Jesus

last Monday evening.  Everyone is coping well

back home, but it's hard not being there for everyone.

Pray for strength and support both in the US and in Africa.

It's difficult to imagine her gone now with me being

so far away, but I know it will hit me soon 

and I will need some support to fall back on.

3.  A connection.  That I can meet a woman here, whether

Ghanaian or a missionary who has the same passion

for Jesus as I do.  That we can connect spiritually 

on the same level and act as encouragers and be 

on a team for Jesus Christ.

My love pours out to all who have

prayed, encouraged, and supported me.

You are loved.

Thank you for blessing me.

More blogs soon.

LOVEfromGhana.

-ali

Love From Ghana.

When I felt the wheels of 

International flight DL134

touch down on red Ghanaian soil,

my heart smiled.

THIS was the moment I'd been waiting for.

The first thing I said was, 

"I am in love."

Ghana oddly feels like home to me.

As I sit and write this,

it is raining outside.

It smells different than American rain.

It's bold.

It's crisp.

It's renewing.

It captivates me in the way

it hits the soft red roads

and the dirt-stained, calloused outside walls

of the Courtyard S.J. Guesthouse (our home in Tutu),

leaving it rich in color and aroma.

The rain has a cooling effect,

an incredible relief to the extreme humidity

we've been enduring each day.

This country is beautiful;

not only the vast fields of lush green trees

with thick African grass,

or the scape of mountains painted in the backgrounds,

but also the selfless, sweet, overflowing-with-love

Ghanaian people.

I wake up each morning 

at the call of the rooster

in our backyard around 7:30am.

(only because it beats my alarm clock.)

Sunrise is around 4am 

(which is actually midnight Indiana time)

Sunset is around 5:30pm.

The sun is hot so it reaches temperatures of 

about 80-85 degrees with 100% humidity.

I've gotten used to sweating, drying, 

and constantly being sticky.

I'm blessed to be able to take two cold showers a day

and I get as much bagged water as I want.

(Yep, think of a completely sealed plastic baggie 

filled with water.  

You just tear off the corner with your teeth

and drink up!)

These cost about 5 to 10 peaswas (about a nickel).

My parents say they've asked for a lot of people's

prayers because I was homesick my first night here.

I sat outside of my room in the commons area

of our guesthouse and sobbed.

I felt trapped and I didn't want to be here anymore.

Nighttime is hardest for me.

Dad says he told people to start praying 

around 5-7pm.  Indiana time.

Because in Ghana that's about the time I'm going to bed.

So if you received this prayer request from my dad,

thank you, so much for praying.

I've really felt them.

I never thought I'd have such a hard

time adjusting, but when you're in a 3rd world

country, you can't really know what to expect.

God has already started working

in amazing ways in my heart and my mind.

He's revealed to me some things regarding

relationships back home and about myself.

I'm discovering who I am in Him

and how to relate to others through His love,

rather than my own.

We don't start teaching in the Deaf school

until tomorrow morning about 8am.

So this past weekend has been filled with

"going into town" either to Mampong 

(this is the city we are staying in) or to Accra 

(Ghana's capital).

I can't wait to share photos with you.

One girl on our team is from New York

and says that Accra is worse than New York City.

It involves taking a taxi (or a tro-tro) into town

then fighting hundreds of people on busy, narrow streets,

selling things from mangos to shoes, toilet paper

to bunny rabbits.

They have stands of fruit and fabric,

fake hair, or corn on the cob.

Children run around barefoot, laughing and playing

and calling out, "Obruni, Obruni!" 

This means "white person."

When you turn and look, 

they wave their little hands, jumping up and down,

and smiling ear to ear.

You really don't need words to communicate.

Most younger children are shy towards white

people, mostly because they aren't used to seeing 

such translucent folk!

But it's always easy to get them to smile

when you take a picture of them and

immediately show them.

Ghanaians love when you greet them

in their language.

"wha-hoot-cha-sain" = Hi, how are you?

"ma-hoy-ay" = good.

"mee-das-ee" = thank you.

They are always so eager to meet us,

know our names and where we come from.

Some younger men ask us to marry them

and take them back to America :]

We met two girls Elizabeth and Ivy.

They are both hearing. 

Elizabeth is 12

and Ivy is almost 15.

They were in Accra helping their parents 

sell toilet paper and bagged water.

They walked around town with huge

tubs of water on their heads,

balancing them like it was nothing!

One girl on our team tried it and failed.

They possess some mad skills!

Their laughs were very contagious making 

me realize that laughter really is 

a universal language.

Oh yeah, and they asked me to write

down my name so they could add me on Facebook.

"Ey, I like yoo. Con ey add yew own Facebook?"

We visited the schools Friday and today.

My eyes filled up with tears

as about 10 brown-faced, white toothed

8-year-olds ran up to us, 

smiling, waving, and laughing.

They signed and ask us our names,

and then wanted to give us name signs

(normally using the first letter of your name

and creating a "sign" 

instead of spelling it all the time).

One little boy signed and asked me if I

got to ride on a plane.

I signed back, "yes, it was ten hours long!"

"We're you scared?"

"A little, but I mostly slept."

He. was. adorable.

I can't wait to teach them.

We are staying in a sort of

"bed and breakfast" 

looking home.

It has a kitchen and dining room downstairs,

along with a huge porch with a stone stairway

and offices for the residents.

Joyce is our homemaker.

She cooks breakfast and dinner for us

and helps us with laundry out back.

(yep, we handwash our clothes in tubs with bar soap

and then hang them on clothes lines to dry).

Our group of 8 occupy four of the upper level rooms.

My roommate, Natalie, and I unknowingly snatched the

"master bedroom."

It has five double windows,

right now, allowing a cool, tropical breeze

mixed with fresh rain and… Ghana smell.

i don't exactly know how to describe Ghana's smell.

But it is distinct.

Spicy, potent, sweet, musty, old wood, dewy, ...love.

The food is good here.

My meals mostly consist of:

For breakfast.: pineapple/mangos, eggs, bread,

and "Milo," a sort of energy chocolate drink.

Kind of like hot chocolate, but not as sweet.

For dinner: watermelon/mangos, jaloff rice (it's like white rice

mixed with a spicy red sauce and has a meaty chicken flavor),

or fufu (plantains with yams mixed up - 

it's a sticky, dough-like substance you 

eat with your hands and dip in ground nut soup)

and water to drink.

The food hasn't bothered my stomach at all.

The portions are about 1/3 of what the average

restaurant brings at home!

I've adjusted great here.

We walk everywhere.

My feet are tired often,

i'm sticky with sweat, 

and I. LOVE. IT.

We start teaching tomorrow.

More updates soon.

Thank you so much for your continual prayers

as I'm on mission here and focusing on

being FEARLESS!

love from Mampong, Ghana!

-ali